The LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, founded in 1913, is celebrating its centennial next week to honor its illustrious past with a host of events, set to kick off Wednesday (Oct. 23) at the Lod Cook Alumni Center.

The Manship School has gone through many transformations, most notably in the years between 1980 and 1993, when the school expanded its radio and television curricula, went through several name changes and gained its independent status from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Jack Hamilton, the school’s director at the time, was upgraded to dean of the school, and he served in that capacity until 2010. Hamilton said once the school earned autonomy in 1994, it was able to increase its academic standards, kick-start recruitment efforts and upgrade the quality of faculty.

Hamilton said that under his tenure, the Manship School established the nation’s only Ph.D. program in media and public affairs. The Manship School began accepting doctoral students in fall 2000.

“What makes us different and we’ve tried to emphasize this more and more, is that we’re the only school in the country that brings together media and public affairs,” said current Manship School Dean Jerry Ceppos. “It seems to me, especially given what happened in the last few weeks (referring to the government shutdown), that nothing is more important than media and public affairs.”

Ceppos said the event that stands out to him the most is the “Reveille Seven,” the seven students who were expelled from school in the 1930s because they angered former Louisiana Governor Huey Long.

“The Daily Reveille earned national journalistic recognition after then-Sen. Huey Long had seven staff members expelled for reporting on something he believed should not belong in 'his' newspaper,” LSU’s student media website reads.

The Manship School plans to premier a video about the Reveille Seven, Ceppos said.

Although the Daily Reveille, LSU’s student-run publication, and the Manship School are separate, a vast majority the newspaper’s staff come from the Manship School, Bob Ritter, director of LSU student media said.

Emily Wascom, director of centennial activities, said the celebration begins with a dinner on Wednesday (Oct. 23), and continues with panel discussions on Thursday (Oct. 24) on public relations, the golden age of LSU TV and the future of news as well as a keynote speech from Carl Bernstein, an investigative journalist and author, best-known for being part of the two-journalist team that uncovered the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon.

On Friday, the panel discussions will continue, focusing on digital media training, the future of Louisiana and a discussion of journalism and media with NYU professor Jay Rosen.

Wascom, who graduated from the Manship School with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, said that between Wednesday and Saturday, she anticipates nearly 1,000 people, including students, staff, faculty and supporters, to attend the centennial events.

The journalism school was renamed the Manship School of Journalism in 1985 after the Manship family, owners of Capital City Press and WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, made a significant financial contribution to the school. In 1992, the school’s curriculum expanded to include full programs in advertising, public relations and broadcast journalism, and the name was changed again, to the Manship School of Mass Communications.

In the school’s 100 years, Ceppos said, the Manship School has graduated nearly 8,300 students. Among some of the school’s notable alumni include John Maginnis, a columnist who covers Louisiana politics; Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden; and Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne.

"An earlier version of this story reported that James Carville was a graduate of the LSU School of Mass Communications. Carville earned a bachelor of science in general studies from LSU." This story was corrected on Oct. 19, 2013